in 1948 and grew up in a military family. His father, Arnett Brown, was a member of the 89th Infantry Division during World War II, who became a Command Sergeant Major and served in the Vietnam War. His mother was Mary Lou Brown. Brown played baseball and basketball in high school, and eventually made it onto a semi-pro baseball team in Fayetteville, North Carolina. In a 2009 interview with The Year in Special Operations, he commented on his short-lived semi-pro baseball career, saying, "I played three games with them and found that life couldn't be sustained on $3 per game". Losing interest in college, and with his father in Vietnam, he walked into a recruiting office and joined the Army as an infantryman. He is married to Penelope "Penny" Brown (née Whightsil), a native of Fayetteville. Together, they have two daughters and five grandchildren. They also have two small dogs. Military service Early military career and Vietnam He entered the Army in 1966 as a private in the infantry. While attending Airborne School at Fort Bragg in North Carolina, he signed up for the Army Special Forces (SF) after meeting Army SF recruiters. After Brown completed the Special Forces Qualification Course, he was assigned to the 7th Special Forces Group. His interest in aviation started While at Mountain Ranger Camp, he became enthralled with helicopters after he was asked by a UH-1 helicopter pilot to assist him in conducting reconnaissance flight over northern Georgia. Immediately afterwards, he signed up for Officer Candidate School (OCS) and flight school. He graduated from OCS in May 1970, obtaining a field artillery officer commission as a second lieutenant. He was thereafter stationed at Camp Pelham, South Korea as part of the Headquarters and Headquarters Battery, 2/17th Field Artillery Regiment. Brown went on to earn his aviator badge in 1971 after attending Army Aviation School at Fort Rucker, Alabama. After aviation school, he deployed to Vietnam as a UH-1 helicopter pilot in the 129th Assault Helicopter Company. He would go on to become the first member of the aviation branch to attain the rank of four-star general. In June 1978, Brown was assigned to the 158th Aviation Battalion at Fort Campbell, Kentucky flying Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawks. While a member of the 158th Aviation Battalion. Brown was a Company Commander. The 158th Aviation Battalion was originally part of the 101st Aviation Group, the air arm